Visitors pay tribute at traveling Vietnam wall in Dana Point

May 16, 2014

Updated May 22, 2014 7:27 p.m.

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Donna Smith of San Juan Capistrano remembers her brother Cpl. James Pigott as she looks for his name on the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point. CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Marine veteran Bruce Shanks of Mission Viejo and his wife, Bonnie, attend opening ceremonies for the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point. While serving in Vietnam in 1966, Shanks was shot in his right hip. The bullet is still lodged there. CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Bill Manes, a member of Dana Point's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9934, stands at attention during the national anthem at an opening ceremony for the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point. CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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The visiting Vietnam Memorial Wall will be open for viewing at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point through Sunday. CINDY YAMANAKA, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Tricia Karoly's husband, Capt. Richard Karoly, died two weeks ago from lung cancer as a result of exposure to Agent Orange, she said. Agent Orange was an heribicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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San Juan Capistrano residents Gary Frampton and Donna Smith look toward the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, which has the name of her brother, Cpl. James Pigott, 20, etched on it at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point. CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Donna Smith of San Juan Capistrano remembers her brother Cpl. James Pigott as she looks for his name on the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall at Sea Terrace Park in Dana Point.CINDY YAMANAKA,, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Photo collection

Janna Hoehn is collecting photos of fallen Orange County Vietnam veterans for the Wall of Faces.

To help: Photos can be sent to Hoehn at neverforgotten2014@gmail.com.

More information about the Wall of Faces, Education Center or Wall That Heals: vvmf.org.

DANA POINT –James Melton still gets emotional when he looks for the names of his two best friends.

They are U.S. Army Pfc. Richard Philbin and U.S. Army Spec. David Rosenberger.

Melton was in elementary school with Rosenberger in Lancaster. He knew Philbin from high school in Sacramento. Philbin was killed in Vietnam in 1965. Rosenberger was killed there in 1968.

“These are two kids that I grew up with that came home in body bags,” Melton said, choking up in front of a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall now on display at Sea Terrace Park. “I’m here out of respect and to remember the good times we used to have. I always go and visit the wall when it’s within a reasonable distance.”

Melton, of San Clemente, has looked for his friends’ names multiple times. The 68-year-old never served but would have gone had the U.S. Navy not dismissed him for a kidney ailment when he received his draft letter.

“It was a nasty war and there were a lot of people who thought we shouldn’t have been there,” Melton said. “My attitude at the time was the country decided we needed to go and that being the case as individuals we needed to support our county’s position. Unfortunately the politicians didn’t give us the tools to win the war.”

The monument is on display at the Dana Point park across from Salt Creek Beach through Sunday night. It commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Ceremonies are planned for today and Sunday.

The wall, also known as American Veteran’s Traveling Tribute, includes all the approximately 58,000 names of the men and women who died in Vietnam. The 370-foot-long, 8.5-foot-tall wall is 80 percent the size of the Washington, D.C. wall.

Its visit to Dana Point was hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9934. The park also will display a Cost of Freedom Tribute to all American wars, including both world wars and those in Iraq and Korea.

The wall travels to 40 cities a year and has been visited by 1.6 million people in seven years. It last traveled to Orange County when it visited Dana Point in 2011. At that time about 35,000 people visited the wall.

“The generation that fought the Vietnam War is the generation that provided me with the role models,” Col. John Farnam, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, said during opening ceremonies. “Fifty years ago our nation called and that generation stood up and answered. Almost 10 percent of that generation can claim the title of Vietnam veteran, more than 58,000 paid the ultimate price. Hundreds more bear scars with physical and mental sacrifices. I hear ‘thank you’ every day of my life. I hear that because of you.”

Bruce Shanks, 71, from Mission Viejo was there with his wife, Bonnie, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Shanks served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966 with the 3rd Marine Regiment from Camp Pendleton. There’s still a bullet in his hip and lingering pain from when he was shot in combat.

“I’m glad he came today,” Bonnie Shanks said. “It has everything to do with the early part of his history. He didn’t talk about the war for a long time. Now, he’s rubbing elbows with more Marines who served with him. It’s a good thing, he’s found new friends.”

After the opening ceremonies, the couple walked along the wall. Shanks didn’t have specific names he looked for – instead he focused on those who served during his years there.

“You didn’t want to get too close because the next day they could be gone.” he said. “I tried for many years to forget it. At first I didn’t want to deal with it. It wasn’t a fun time. Now, I appreciate that a lot of people are interested and care what we did.”

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